Burch’s Original New Mexico Green Chile Stew, by Beverly Hicks Burch

One thing I learned when Tall & Handsome and I married was how to use green chilies and I needed to learn how to do it as often as relevantly possible for a Southwestern and Southern union…and I needed to learn how to do it well. You see, those New Mexicans take their chilies seriously.

They even have an official state phrase…”Red or green?” Which mean do you want red chilies or green with your meal? Or you can just have Christmas on the side which means you take `em both!

I draw the line at putting green chilies on my burgers and pizza (and sometimes ice cream) which T & H assures me is the norm and not the occasional deviation in New Mexico. I say, “Nuh uh!” You just have to say “No” somewhere…

But, I do admit to acquiring a fondness for those little green jewels and now those little 4 ounce can are a staple in my cabinet. We panic if we get below two cans…

When the weather starts to cool down or if it’s cold and rainy I can’t wait to make a big ol’ pot of Posole. T & H and I also have a fondness for Green Chili Stew. Usually we make our stew from a mix from a company called Desert Garden, but since we didn’t have any on hand we decided to resort to the next best thing…make it from scratch!

After a little research, discussion, decision and trial and error we concocted a big pot just in time keeps us warm against the rain outside.

All we can say is “Yum…and pass the tortillas!” My native New Mexican said it was pretty darn good…

1. Sautee onion and garlic in 3 tablespoon of olive oil until they begin to soften in a Dutch oven or stock pot. Add cumin, ½ teaspoon black pepper and oregano and cook on low for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside

Why would you put hominy in green chile stew? Also using canned chile is a sin and should only be used as a last resort. You may be able to find roasted, peeled and chopped Bueno brand green chile in your grocery stores freezer section. If not ask the manager and maybe he’d be willing to bring in a case or two for you.

Hominy is a very common ingredient in southwestern cooking. As I mentioned in the blog we are quite fond of Posole, a green chile and hominy dish. My husband tells me this dish is served routinely as part of holiday meals in New Mexico. He is a native New Mexican, by the way and is a pretty good reference on the subject.

As far as hominy in Green Chile Stew…well, my recipe was developed after trial and error and research from several recipes in my husband’s New Mexico cookbooks (yes, there were green chile stew recipes with hominy, some with tomatoes and other ingredients we might not think as “traditional” but all authentic if you believe in cookbooks published in New Mexico). We just took our favorite flavors and tastes from recipes and developed our own, which we believe is pretty darn authentic. Again, I would have to let my “in-house” native New Mexican give his stamp of approval…and he does.

Now, to address the canned green chiles vs. fresh or frozen. A sin?! Oh, come on now Mike, really! 😉 I do know that New Mexicans take their green chilies seriously.
Yes, we have roasted our own when a friend sent my husband a box from New Mexico to Alabama a few years ago. But, Mike in this economy, who can really afford $75-100 per box or more for a case…or even two cases of green chilies…in a time when the US unemployment is 12% or higher in many places, many people would say it would be a sin to spend that much on such a frivolous purchase…granted, they might not be New Mexicans 😉

We try to use Hatch…the true choice any New Mexican, but if canned Hatch are not available, we will buy what we can…after all canned green chilies are better than no chilies…and to totally do without…well, now, that would be a sin…

Oh by the way, my husband say if you have a source for “inexpensive” Hatch Big Jims, he’d love to hear from you:)